Abstract
This paper looks at how Alexandra Bergson, the main character of Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!", is portrayed as a pastoral heroine. She essentially takes on nontraditional gender roles as she performs and acts like a strong and independent woman. During the time period of the novel, this was unheard of and would be considered behavior appropriate for a man. The paper supports its thesis by using quotes from Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!" and two other sources.

From the Paper
"Carl's decision to come back to Nebraska illustrates his rejection of the scripted male practice of traveling around the country in order to make more money. He ultimately realizes that he belongs with Alexandra, as he settles down to start a new life with her. Arguably, this creates a certain type of role reversal, as the younger, sensitive and uncertain Carl comes back to Alexandra's confident and stable arms. The conventional ending to this story would have entailed Alexandra relying on Carl as the 'man of the house,' but this is not the case. Carl's genuine feelings can be summed up as Alexandra does not belong to him but that she belongs ?to the land [?] now more than ever.? (Cather 307) Cather ends the novel putting both Alexandra and Carl on the same level ..."

Tags:equality, identity, independence, naturalism

Abstract
This paper offers an evaluation of Titus Carus Lucretius' "De Rerum Natura," comparing the poem to earlier works done. The paper also gives a brief background of Lucretius and other writers in the field, and outlines the thoughts of modern scholars on the matter. The paper explains that Lucretius was one of the most influential poets of late Republican Rome, and was heavily influenced by the teachings of a previous philosopher, Epicurus, the creator of Epicurean philosophy, who wrote on the subject of atomic theory in the third century B.C. The paper notes that when Lucretius wrote on atoms he developed several conclusions that were ahead of his time, and that one of his main reasons for writing was to cure men of the fear of death, a subject he believed to be of the utmost importance. The paper opines that whether viewed as a poem that compounds Epicurean philosophy, or a poem of truly original thought, "De Rerum Natura" is one of the boldest and most powerful books of all time. The paper concludes that "De Rerum Natura" has changed the face of literature since its publication, influencing authors such as Vergil, to Henri Bergson, and continues to remain one of the most fascinating pieces of literature that has ever been written.

From the Paper
"Epicurus, a philosopher who lived approximately 200 years before Lucretius, wrote on the subject of atomic theory. His teachings, which would later be called Epicureanism, were heavily influential upon the works of Lucretius taught that the laws of nature, not the gods, ruled the world. Epicurus wrote "Supernatural intervention is not needed to explain the phenomena of the world." Epicurus taught that although there were gods, they were ignorant of mankind, and thus not to be feared. He believed that because we are able to see only the material world, we cannot conclude that anything else exists. Although Epicurus was hardly a spiritualist he valued art, and other pleasures of the mind above more mundane pleasures. He taught that pleasure was good and pain was bad and that both pleasure and pain could not coexist, and that anxiety was one of the greatest causes of pain. Death being one of the major causes of anxiety in one's life, it also must be, according to Epicurus, the greatest hindrance for pleasure. And because he believed that only the material world exists, there is no life after death, and thus nothing to fear. In 306 B.C. he founded a school in Athens that survived long after his demise and would greatly influence the mind of young Lucretius."

Tags:Epicurus, Rome, Titus, Carus

Abstract
The paper poses various questions pertaining to the Modernist movement in art. These involve how the philosopher Bergson utilized simultaneity in his theories. Additionally, it considers how intellectuals of the era gave significance to simultaneity. And finally, how Picasso manifested simultaneity in the Cubist form of art and in his painting 'Les Desmoiselles D'Avignon.' The paperdiscusses the deconstruction and reconstruction of reality and form.

From the Paper
"Bergson presented a unique perspective on the relationship between time and space. Similar to other conventions in the modernist movement, Bergson deconstructed these concepts from what may be "factually" real and merged it with perceptual reality. In this way, he broke the traditional limitations of describing time and space through his unique definition of simultaneity. Fejfar (2) concurs with most critics of Bergson's work that he presents a complex non-linear conception of time that is more metaphysical than..."

Tags:simultaneity, modernist, art

Abstract
This paper reviews an 2003 Internet article "Keeping the Customer Satisfied" by Lisa Bergson about the organizing function of management and its applicability to General Motors. The author points out that this article offers insights for both entrepreneurs and larger corporations.

From the Paper
"The organizing function of management encompasses a wide variety of tasks from human resource management to the organizational structure of the firm and individual groups within the company. Effective managers understand how to bring together all of the necessary elements human resources, physical resources and informational resources necessary to achieve organizational goals. This is all part of the organizing function of management. The function is critical regardless of whether the organization is as large as General Motors or a small business and lessons from ..."

Tags:organizing function, management, General Motors

Abstract
The three-dimensional Rubik's Cube - an icon of the 1980s brought a certain cerebral quality to the modern toy. This paper shows the similarities in the mechanism of the Rubik's cube and the way in which humor functions. It shows these similarities with reference to relevant academics such as Sigmund Freud and Henry Bergson. Examples used to illustrate the argument are drawn from a variety of sources including novels, live stage performance, theater and cinema.

From the Paper
"Freud's work Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious dissects the technique, purposes and motives of jokes and reveals a remarkably similar mechanism to that of Rubik's Cube. The jumble of colors into matching sets may be likened to "the ability to find similarity in dissimilar things." A joke begins in the mind as a puzzle for the audience as they try to guess its outcome or make sense of nonsense. Humor has to be expressed physically - whether it is through voice, mime or writing - but is essentially a materialization of intellectual thought (behind bumbling Mr. Bean in fact lies Cambridge-educated Rowan Atkinson)."

Tags:blackadder, Sgt., Henderson

Abstract
The paper introduces Willa Cather, who lived in Nebraska in the late 1800s, as having a writing style that was a fresh, new approach to the American experience. The paper reviews her book, "O Pioneers", which is a personification of the Bergson family's life on the frontier. The author concludes that Cather used intense detail to project the main theme, man pitted against nature.

From the Paper
"Alexandra emerged rather quickly as the protagonist of the novel, and evolved into a female heroine. One of the most dominant characters however, wasn't human at all. The land itself was the greatest enemy that Alexandra faced at times. Their relationship was symbolic of the overall theme of the "grand struggle"that existed between humanity and forces out of human control. Alexandra tried to control the land, and tried to exert her wishes upon the land, but the land was bending her at the same time."

Tags:frontier, nebraska, 1800?s, land, character, struggle, imagery, personification, realistic

Abstract
This paper examines and compares three novels which deal with immigration to the promised land of America and movement through society and classes within the country itself. The paper shows how the characters in each novel deal with their new surroundings, language and mentality and compares the three novels. The works chosen to analyze are: "O, Pioneer" by Willa Cather which describes settlement in the American West, "Sister Carrie" by Theodore Dreiser which describes the rise from poverty and the fall from power and, finally, "Promised Land" an autobiography by Mary Antin, who immigrated to America at the age of 13 with her family.

From the Paper
"It is assumed that the so-called great American urge to settle and farm western prairies was at its peak immediately following the Civil War. This was the time when Willa Cather's family moved to the east coast of Nebraska in 1873. She got her first sense of small-town life in Nebraska in 1884 when her family migrated to Red Cloud, another settlement, which she used as the setting for Hanover in "O Pioneer!." Her experiences and familiarity during her formative years in and among the settlers, her conversations with immigrant European farmers and the violent character of the prairie altogether created that huge impact that she translated into her novel. Ralph Waldo Emerson noted more than half a century later that such exceptional frontier experiences had to be recorded. It was Willa Cather who seized the essence of 19th century America and recorded her own experiences, first-hand, on the might of the land itself, the impersonal forces emitting from it, the hardships and tragedies in pioneer life much like a history in motion in her novel."

Tags:John, Bergson, Alexandra, Heeber, George, Hurstwood